Ireland: Technology

As the EU AI Act's Article 50 transparency obligations approach their 2 August 2026 enforcement date, organizations face critical requirements to disclose AI interactions, label deepfakes, and mark synthetic content. This session examines the practical implications of these transparency mandates, drawing on the European Commission's recently published Guidelines and Code of Practice to help stakeholders prepare for compliance.

The EU AI Act's transparency obligations take effect from 2 August 2026, requiring organisations across the EU to disclose when and how they use AI in customer-facing tools like chatbots and content generators. With Ireland's new AI Office now established and regulatory scrutiny intensifying, businesses face the challenge of mapping existing AI deployments and embedding appropriate disclosures into their products and services before enforcement begins.

The European Commission has published an Action Plan addressing the dual-edged nature of frontier artificial intelligence models in cybersecurity, outlining how the EU will harness AI's defensive capabilities while protecting against AI-powered cyber threats. Through nine key actions spanning 2026-2027, the plan establishes frameworks for safe AI evaluation, structured access to advanced AI capabilities, and the scaling of European sovereign AI cybersecurity solutions across critical infrastructure sectors.